


midnight ghost

by alambils



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, death mention, ghost - Freeform, tim sees a ghost of stephanie essentially
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23623972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alambils/pseuds/alambils
Summary: “You’re getting soft Robin. A few months ago, you would’ve called me out by name.”“Yeah, well, a few months ago you weren’t dead.”============================tim drake gets an unexpected visit from the memory of a lost friend
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	midnight ghost

**Author's Note:**

> not beta-d, because i just post almost immediately after writing lmao!! anyways, enjoy. just a short lil' fic i wrote because i had the dialougue exchange "a month ago you would have called me out by name" "a month ago you weren't dead" stuck in my head

The moon hung low in the polluted Gotham sky, a starless expanse of the most nondescript grey possible. Another beautiful night, Tim Drake thought half sarcastically. Gotham _was_ beautiful, but in the kind of way that a kindergartener thinks that their clay pot is beautiful. Messy, ugly, and lumpy, but something a lot of care and hard work went into. Tim leaned over the edge of the roof he was perched on, staring at the street below. The people walking by were so tiny from this height. Tim held up his fingers and squinted one eye, measuring the ant sized Gothamites. 

“You think a city with one inch people would have less crime in it,” he said out loud, chuckling at his own stupid joke. A gust of wind blew by and Tim stiffened. Something had changed. He suddenly knew that he wasn’t alone on the rooftop. With more confidence than he thought he had, he called out. “I know someone is there. Come out.” 

A soft laugh from the shadows made Tim’s stomach turn. “You’re getting soft Robin. A few months ago, you would’ve called me out by name.” 

“Yeah, well, a few months ago you weren’t dead.” Tim turned around to see the figure of Stephanie Brown emerging from the shadows. He was surprised to see her in street clothes, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. So much of the time they spent together was in costume, on duty, that seeing how in her civilian identity seemed wrong somehow. 

“Dead? Is that what I am?” Stephanie quirked her mouth into a wry smile that told Tim she knew exactly what was going on here, even if he didn’t. 

“I don’t know what you are. I just know you’re not really here.” Tim turned away from the specter of his ex-girlfriend and set his focus back on the city streets. Behind him, he could hear her clamboring up the repair scaffolding. 

“I guess this is why we didn’t patrol in jeans, huh?” Stephanie’s voice called out to him, but Tim refused to look. He picked up his binoculars and settled on a point in the middle distance. He couldn’t give into this vision of her. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He needed to be prepared to help people. He needed to be able to forget about her. He needed her not to invade his waking hours like she did his dreams. “Geez. I wasn’t expecting you to cry and confess how much you missed me, though that would have been entertaining, but I didn’t expect the reception to be _this_ cold.” 

Sighing, Tim lowered his binoculars and turned around. Stephanie, or whatever a grief activated vision of Stephanie would be called, was hanging upside off the scaffolding. “Of course I miss you. Of course! How could I not? You were my… There was a time you were the only thing in my life that made me feel like myself. Like I could be a kid _and_ Robin. You were the first thing that made me realise that I didn’t have to choose, that Tim and Robin weren’t two separate entities.” Stephanie didn’t respond, only shifted on the scaffolding so she was right side up again. “Stephanie, I miss you everyday. But what am I supposed to do about that? I have a job to do, an important one. I need to stay focused and sharp or innocent people could get hurt. I can’t spend all my time missing you, no matter how much I want to.”

Stephanie-but-not-there grinned and dismounted the scaffolding much more gracefully than she got on it. She walked over to Tim and extended a hand as if she were about to caress his cheek, stopping just short of making contact with his skin. “But don’t you see? You still spend _too much_ time on missing me.” Tim cocked his head quizzically and Steph responded with a sad smile. “So much can change in such a short time. You’re different now, your life is different. And it’s going to continue to be so different! So great! Tim, no amount of missing me will bring me back. You know that.”

“Steph, it’s not that simple. I’m not wishing you back I-” Tim took a deep breath. “I’m wishing that there wasn’t such senseless violence. Your death didn’t have to happen. Everything that happened to you could have been prevented if only-”

“No. It couldn’t have. Or maybe it could have. Honestly, I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. Tim, I need you to promise me something. Promise me you don’t make my death into something it isn’t. Promise me you start to let me go. Promise me.”

Tim stared at her, taking in as much of her face as possible. Softly and without breaking eye contact, he breathed, “I can’t promise, but I can try.” The vision of Stephanie considered that for a few seconds and then nodded, seemingly content. 

Overwhelmed, Tim closed his eyes for a moment and breathed a heavy sigh. When he opened his eyes, Stephanie was gone again. The Gotham night was still once more, save for the sounds of police sirens in the distance. Reaching into his pocket, Tim retrieved a small object. He set on the scaffolding, hesitated for a moment, and took a running leap off the rooftop towards the sirens. Behind him, a scrap of purple cloth flapped defiantly in the wind, refusing to move from where it was so carefully placed.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked! please please please comment, leave kudos if you like, have a good day! hope you're staying safe


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